The background of the invention will be discussed in two parts;
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hair twining apparatus, and more particularly to hand operated hair twining apparatus for use with human or synthetic hair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Braiding machines have been used extensively in the textile industry. Such braiding machines are shown and described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 352,804, issued Nov. 16, 1886 to Bowerson; 433,855, issued Aug. 5, 1890 to Ellis; 830,137, issued Sept. 4, 1906 to Diss; 1,398,444, issued Nov. 29, 1921 to Pfrunder; Re. 15,909, issued Sept. 2, 1924 to Pfrunder; 1,900,310, issued Mar. 7, 1933 to Somerville; 2,254,895, issued Sept. 2, 1941 to Johnston, Jr.; 2,782,590, issued Feb. 26, 1957 to Lowe; 2,878,514, issued Mar. 24, 1959 to Nichols et al; 3,360,915, issued Jan. 2, 1968 to Franzen; 3,421,406, issued Jan. 14, 1969 to Mitchell et al; 3,439,486, issued Apr. 22, 1969 to Klein; 3,552,693, issued Jan. 5, 1971 to Scherf; 3,834,146, issued Sept. 10, 1974 to Nessler, et al; and 4,262,479, issued Apr. 21, 1981 to Lenorak. Another similar type of device intended for use with wire is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 359,409, issued Mar. 15, 1887 to Stone.
Such prior art braiding machines for use in creating yarn, for example, are simply twisting machines. Other such devices for use in forming rope or cord ordinarily employ means for simply interweaving two strands. Other such devices for use in the textile industry tend to be complicated apparatus, part of an overall machine, with complex mechanisms.
A braiding machine intended specifically for hair is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,996 issued Aug. 2, 1977, to Eronini, et al. The hair braider apparatus of that patent is a portable hair braider which is motor operated, and uses a plurality of foot members for hair parters to divide the hair over a predetermined width of the scalp, with hair grabbers then clamping the hair thus-parted and rotating the strands for weaving them together to form a braid.
Another braiding machine intended for use with hair is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,737, issued Dec. 29, 1981 to Shipman. In the apparatus of this patent, three strands of hair are drawn through three elongated tubes mounted for movement within an elongated cylindrical housing, having an operating lever extending out through a slot in the surface thereof. The tubes are intermittently alternated by the operator, a pair at a time, by means of guide members positioned within a central opening. The three tubes are movable along a track passing through the guide members for alternately selecting a pair of tubes for rotation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hair twining apparatus.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hair twining apparatus which is hand operated.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hair twining apparatus which is mechanically uncomplicated and usable by a child of tender years for twining human hair or synthetic hair, such as a doll's hair.